The term Sustainable Tourism embodies the idea of environmentally friendly travel. This topic was the most interesting to me because I have been blessed enough to do a lifetime of travelling in only 18 years. Vacationing, naturally, is one of my favorite things to do. I've never really given a thought to sustainable tourism or anything "green," but this class seems like the perfect opportunity to do so.

Sustainable Tourism has a main goal of sustaining the environment of the destination and the culture of the people. This meaning the traveler leave the destination the way they found it. Unlike other topics of sustainability, there is no solid data to show the extent tourism is impacting the environment but, there is definitely room for improvment here. This improvement could come from many sources including travelling to and from destination, travelling at destination, lodging at destination, and most importantly activities at destination.

Travelling to Destination(Page 1):

If you are going to be travelling to a destination within driving distance, do that. If not, you are going to have to fly. Right now there is really nothing a airplane passenger can do to reduce the impact of their travels on the environment but, Boeing has begun plans of making a zero-emissions fuel cell airplane due to rising amounts of people requesting a "greener" Airline.

Transportation at Destination(Page 2):

As far as travelling once you've arrived at your destination, most flyers opt for the rental car, and now you can go green by renting a hybrid. Rent-A-Hybrid-Car.com provides a list of all car rental companies that offer hybrid vehicles and where these vehicles are available. Although most companies are going to charge more for a hybrid than a regular vehicle; the money you save on gas should more than make up the difference.

Lodging(Page 3):

This is probably where you can make the biggest commitment to the environment in your travels. Over the past few years many hotels and travel websites have become aware of the fact that many vacationers care about staying green when they travel. From hotels with locally grown organic foods to hotspring spas to wind powered appliances, there are many ways hotels can benefit the environment and I encourage you to take advantage of these when you travel. ItsAGreenGreenWorld.com provides its user with a list of destinations all over the world that are green, here's where I'd like to go.

Activities(Page 4):

Depending on the destination, the amount of environmentally friendly activities you can choose from is going to vary. The main focus of Sustatinable Tourism is to leave your destination the way it was before you arrived. This may seem like a simple rule to follow but, when looking at the Mediterranian Sea, tourism has been shown to be one of the main sources of pollution to the region.The effects of tourism are seen at Stonehenge, where visitors can no longer go directly up to and touch the stones. Instead, because of tourists writing on the stones, visitors must enjoy Stonehenge from behind a barricade. If previous visitors would have followed the sustainable tourist code and left Stonehenge the way they had found it, people visiting today would be able to touch the stones. The effects of tourism are often times not this noticible; it can be as simple as someone throwing their wrapper on a pathway through the woods.